Detachable instrument



Feb. 11, 1941. A. R. RUTTER 2,231,737

DETACHABLE INSTRUMENT Filed March 2l, 1939 QSA I/ l1 I WITNESSES:

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f BY @mb Q @u fmmldtzan 8J zsulatfzm ATTOR Y Patented Feb. 11, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,231,737 DETACHABLE INSTRUMENT Application March 21, 1939, Serial No. 263,149

11 Claims. (Cl. F75- 222) This invention relates to detachable instrustrument therefrom. In a specic embodiment ments and it has particular relation to improved of my invention, the socket contacts are mounted socket constructions for receiving and testing on a movable carriage which may be moved from such instruments. contact engaging position to a position in which Detachable instruments of the type disclosed substantially no pressure is exerted by the socket in the Bradshaw et al. Patent 1,969,499 and the contacts upon the contacts carried by the instru- Allen et al. Patent 2,076,491, both assigned to the ment. This movable carriage aise may be em- Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Comployed for carrying test contacts against the pany, have become standard not only in the eld contacts of the detachable instrument. Since it of watthour meters but also in other fields, such may not be desirable to interrupt the continuity as dynamometer, DArsonval and moving iron inof service during the test of a detachable instrustruments. Because of the high contact pressures ment. this invention also provides fOr ley-passing employed for establishing electrical contact bethe instrument whenever it becomes necessary to tween the contact blades carried by the detachremove the instrument from its socket 0r to test able instrument and the contact jaws provided in the instrument. This may be accomplished by the instrument socket, considerable force must positioning ley-passing contacts t0 engage the be exerted for attaching the instruments to their socket contacts as they are InOVed aWay frein the sockets and for removing the instruments theredetachable instrument contacts. from. This is particularly pronounced in the case It is, therefore, an object 0f this invention t0 of instruments having large numbers of contacts. prcvide an improved socket fOr detachable instru- For example, a polyphase watthour meter may ments which facilitates attachment and removal have a total of 15 contacts and consequently Of the instruments. would require an unusually high force for attacn- It is another Object 0f my inVentiOn t0 relieve ing it to its socket. other detachable instruthe pressure exerted by the Contacts of a detachments, such as relays, may require an even larger able instrument against the Contacts Carried by number of contacts, with consequent increase in its socket prior to removal or attachment of an the force required for installation and removal. instrument.

Another problem presented by detachable in- It is another object of my invention to provide struments is that of testing. In certain instrua detaChable instrument with means fOr simulments, such as single-phase watthour meters, the tanecusly relieving cOntact pressure therein and testing problem is not acute for the reason that completing a by-nass arOund the instrumentsuch instruments are tested infrequently at inter- It is a further Object 0f my inventiOn t0 DI'OVide vals of several years. Moreover, because of the a detachable instrument With means fOr Simulnexibility of the detachable construction, it is taneeusly relieving pressure between its Contacts possible to remove single-phase watthour meters and the Contacts 0f its SOCket. and establishing and similar instruments for testing at a central a test Circuit fOr the detachable instrument. test laboratory. For other instrument installa- It is a still further Object 0f my invention t0 tions, however, it is economically desirable to test mOunt the CentaCts in the Socket Of adetachable the instrument more frequently. As an example instrument fOr InOVementof such an instrument installation, reference may It is a still further object Of my invention t0 be made to the large polyphase watthour meter provide a detachable instrument with a socket which ordinarily is employed for measuring large having InOvahle cOntaCts actuated by COntrOl values of energy. Because of the large values of means Which are prctected from unauthorized energy measured, it is important to maintain the actuation by the same seal employed for protectaccuracy of the meter at an extremely high level. ing the detachable instrument- For this reason, it is the practice to run tests on Other objects 0f my inventicn Will be apparent such a meter at frequent intervals. Partially from the following description taken in conjuncfor this reason, it is desirable to test such a tion with the accompanying drawing, in which meter in its installed position. Figure l is a View in front elevation with parts In accordance with this invention, sockets fo broken away of a detachable instrument installadetachable instruments are so designed that the tion embodying my invention; pressure exerted by the socket contacts upon the Fig. 2 is a view in cross section, with parts contacts carried by the detachable instrument broken away, taken along the lines II-II of Fig. may be relieved prior to attachment of the instru- 1; and ment to its socket or prior to removal of the in- Fig. 3 is a View in cross section corresponding to Fig. 2, but with the parts thereof in diierentpositions.

Referring to the drawing, I have illustrated a conventional detachable instrument I comprising a glass cover 2 and a meter mechanism M which is illustrated as a polyphase watthour meter unit. The instrument and cover are provided with flanges 3, 3 which in normal operation are positioned adjacent a iiange 4 carried by a ring 5 attached to the cover S of a socket structure 1. The socket structure may take any of the numerous forms available in the prior art, but, as illustrated, the socket structure is mounted in a box type housing 8. Instead of the box type housing, this socket may be mounted on a switchboard, in which case the cover 6 would correspond to the face of the switchboard, or the socket may be mounted in a trough type housing. As is conventional in detachable meter construction, the detachable instrument is retained on its socket by means of a. sealing ring 9 which is clamped in sea-ling position around the anges 3 and 4 by means of a bolt I which engages clips II and I2 affixed to the ends of the sealing ring. Unauthorized removal of the sealing ring is prevented by means of a seal I3 which passes through slots in one of the clips I2 and in the bolt Iii. Electrical connections to the detachable instrument are made by means of contact blades I4 which project from the base of the detachable instrument through the ring 5 when the instrument is in attached position. Further details of the construction oi the detachable instrument thus far described are disclosed in the aforesaid patents to Bradshaw et al. and Allen et al.

For energizing the detachable instrument, the socket structure 'I is provided with a number of contact elements I5 and I5a which preferably are constructed of spring material, such as brass. These contacts are shown in their normal operating positions in Fig. 3. As is apparent from a study of this figure, considerable pressure is exerted between the contact blades I4 of the instrument and the contact elements I5 and Ia of the socket. In order to relieve this pressure prior to insertion or removal of the detachable instrument, the contact elements I5 and I5a are mounted for movement towards and from the contact blades I4. Such movement may be provided by mounting the contact elements upon suitable carriage blocks I6 and Ia which are constructed from insulations or othervvise insulate the contact elements from each other.

These carriage blocks I6, Ia may be mounted for movement in a number of different ways. As illustrated, the carriage blocks are provided with elongated openings for slidably receiving a plurality of rods Il which are fixed to the box 8 in any suitable manner. By sliding the carriage block IS upon the rods Il from the positions shown in Fig. 3 to those illustrated in 2, the contact elements I5 and IEa are moved away from the contact blades I4, thereby relieving the pressure therebetween. For eiecting this movement conveniently, a shaft IB is mounted for rotation in the box 8 and carries attached thereto a lever I9. A pair of links 25 and Eta connect the lever I9 respectively to the carriage blocks l and I 5a for converting rotation of the lever I9 into reciprocation ot the carriage blocks. Additional levers 2I and links 22 and 22a (Fig. l) are provided for distributing the forces exerted by movement of the lever I9 over the carriage blocks I8 and IBa. It will be noted that the carriage blocks have a considerable length. Although only one Contact element I5 or I5@ is shown on each block, it should be understood that in practice a number of similar contact elements will be distributed along the length of each of the carriage blocks for cooperation with a plurality of contact blades carried by the detachable instrument. The contact elements I5 and I5a are connected to the line and load sides of a circuit to be metered by means of suitable conductors 23.

Since it may be undesirable to interrupt the circuit when the detachable instrument is removed from its socket, I provide a plurality of circuit closing contacts 24 and 24a in the path of movement of the contact elements I5 and I5a, respectively. From an inspection of Figs. 2 and 3, it will be noted that as the contact elements I5 and I5a are moved away from the contact blades I4, they engage the circuit completing contacts 24 and 24a which are connected by means of suitable conductors 25 for by-passing current around the detachabie instrument. The Contact elements I5 and |50l and the associated contacts preferably are so proportioned that the` contact elements I5 and I5a make contact with the circuit closing contacts 24 and 24a before breaking Contact with the contact blades I4.

In order to test the detachable instrument While mounted on its socket, a plurality of test contacts 26 and 26a are mounted on the movable carriage blocks I5 and Ia, respectively. As the contact elements I5 and I5a are moved away from the contact blades I4 the test contacts 25 and 26a are moved into contact with the contact blades I4. Suitable test contacts may be designed to exert relatively low pressures on the contact blades. These test contacts are connected by means of suitable conductors 2'I to a plurality of test terminals 28 which may be mounted on a strip of insulation 29 at one end of the box 8. The terminals 28 may be of any suitable design such as, for example, that illustrated in the Mylius Patent No. 2,088,481, which is assigned to the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company.

It is believed that the operation of the apparatus thus far described is apparent. Ii it is desired to replace an instrument mounted on its socket, the lever I9 may be moved from the position illustrated in Fig. 3 to that illustrated in Fig. 2. Such movement of the lever I9 forces the contact elements I5 and I5a away from the contact blades I4 thereby relieving the detachable instrument from undue pressure. At the same time, the Contact elements I5 and I5a engage the circuit closing contacts 24 and 24a for maintaining continuity of service during the exchange of instruments. With the contacts in these positions, the detachable instrument may be removed easily from its socket and replaced by a new instrument. The test contacts are provided with curved entrance lips which guide the test contacts along the contact blades I4 of the new instrument. After the new instrument has been mounted in position, the lever I9 may be returned to the position shown in Fig. 3, bringing the contact elements I5 and |551 into contact with the Contact blades I4 of the new instrument. The detachable assembly then is ready for continued operation.

If it is desired to test an instrument mounted on a socket structure 1, the lever I9 is moved from the position shown in Fig. 3 to the position shown in Fig. 2 in order to move the contact elements I5 and I5a away from the contact blades I4 into contact with the circuit closing contacts 24 and 24a thereby assuring continuity of service during the test period. At the same time, the movement of the lever I9 acting through the carriage blocks I6 and I6a carries the test contacts 26 and 26a into contact with the contact blades I4. Suitable connections having been made between the test terminals 28 and the testing apparatus, the detachable instrument I may be conveniently tested. At the close of the test the lever I9 is restored to the position shown in Fig. 3 in order to restore the detachable instrument to service, and the test apparatus is disconnected from the test terminals 28, if desired.

Occasionally it may be desirable to disconnect the line and load sides of the circuit served by the detachable instrument I. This may be accomplished readily by moving the circuit closing contacts 24 and 24a .out of the path of movement of the contact elements I5 and I5a. As illustrated, the circuit closing contacts 24 and 24a are mounted on insulating blocks 39, which are attached to the cover 6 by means of machine screws 40. In order to provide such movement for the insulation blocks 39, the screws 40 are passed through slots 4I in the cover. By loosening the screws 4I) and moving the circuit closing contacts 24 and 24a away from the contact elements I5 and I5a, assuming that the meter parts otherwise are in the position illustrated in Fig. 2, the detachable instrument I is removed from service and the line and load sides of the meter circuit are disconnected.

Unwarranted operation ofthe lever I9 may be prevented in many dierent ways. As illustrated in Fig. l, the lever I9 moves between two recesses v3l and 32 provided in the cover 6. T'he lever I9 is sprung slightly to pass the projection 33 between the two recesses, and the projection retains the lever in either of its extreme positions. Under normal conditions, the lever and the test terminals 29 are protected by means of an auxiliary cover 34 which is mounted on a hinge 35 provided at one side of thebox 8. This cover not only extend-s over the terminals and lever but projects beneath the sealing ring clips I I and I2. Consequently, the auxiliary cover 34 cannot be opened until the seal I3 is broken and the sealing ring 9 is removed. If desired, a separate sealing means may be employed for the auxiliary cover as by passing a seal I3 through openings 36 provided in a pair of lugs 31 and 38 mounted respectively on the box 8 and the auxiliary cover 34.

For switchboard operation, these precautions are, o course, unnecessary as a rule. Consequently, the lever I9 may project slightly through an opening in the switchboard corresponding to the cover 6 and may remain accessible at all times.

Although I have described my invention with reference to certain specific embodiments thereof, it is obvious that numerous modifications are possible, For example, if it is unnecessary to provide test facilities for an instrument, the test contacts 26 and 26a with their connections need not be employed. Similarly, if circuit continuity is not required at all times, the circuit closing contacts 24 and 24a, together with their connections, need not be employed. Because of these and other permissible modications, I do not wish my invention to be restricted except as required by thev appended claims when interpreted in view of the prior art.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a detachable instrument assembly, an instrument, a contact member on said instrument, a base for detachably receiving said instrument in a predetermined position, a first contact element on said base, a second contact element on said base, and means for selectively establishing contact between either of said contact elements and said Contact member while said instrument is in said predetermined position.

2. In a detachable instrument assembly, an instrument, a contact member on said instrument, a base for detachably receiving said instrument in a predetermined position, a first contact element on said base, `a second contact element on said base, and means for selectively moving said second contact element into engagement with either said rst contact element or said contact member while said instrument is in said predetermined position.

3. In a detachable instrument assembly, an instrument, a base for detachably receiving said instrument, a first contact member on said instrument, a second contact member on said base, a pair of movable contact elements on said base, and means for selectively moving said contact elements from positions in which each engages one of said contact members to positions in which a first one of said contact elements is disengaged and a second one of said contact elements engages a different one of said contact members.

4. In a base for a detachable instrument havlng a contact member, a first contact element on said base, and a second contact element on said base, said second contact lelement being movable from a position in contact with said contact member to a position in contact with said rst contact element, and said first contact element being movable out of the path of movement of said second contact element.

5. In a detachable instrument assembly for an electrical circuit, an electrical instrument, a base for detachably receiving said instrument, contact means on said instrument for connecting said instrument to said circuit, circuit completing means for replacing an electrical path represented by said instrument, and means for selectively engaging either said contact means or said circuit completing means for completing said electrical circuit.

6. In a` detachable instrument assembly, an instrument, contact making means for said instrument, `a base for detachably receiving said instrument, contact completing means movable on said base into and out of operative relation with respect to said contact making means, control means for moving said contact completing means While said instrument is in operative position, and common means for sealing said instrument against detachment and against actuation of said control means.

7. In a detachable instrument assembly, an instrument, contact making means for said instrument comprising contact blades carried by said instrument, a base for detachably receiving said instrument, said instrument and contact blades being removable as a unit from said base, contact completing means movable on said base into and out of operative relation with respect to said contact making means, control means for moving said contact completing means, test means having connections controlled by said control means, and a common enclosure for said control means and test means, said control means being accessible with said instrument in operative position.

8. In an instrument assembly, a detachable electrical instrument having rst contact means comprising contact blades removable with said instrument from said base, a base for detachably receiving said electrical instrument, second contact means carried by said base for resiliently engaging said first contact means, and control means operable While said electrical instrument is mounted in its operative position on said base for moving said rst and second Contact means into and out of electroconduotive engagement with each other.

9. In a detachable instrument assembly, an electrical instrument having first contact means, a base for supporting said electrical instrument, said electrical instrument and rst contact means being removable as a unit from said base, second contact means carried by said base for engaging said rst contact means, said base and said instrument when mounted on said base cooperating Ato form an enclosure for said Contact means, and control meansI operable While said electrical instrument is mounted on said base for moving said first and second contact means into and out of electroconductive engagement With each other.

10.111 a detachable instrument assembly, a

detachable electrical instrument having a plurality of contact blades, a base for detachably supporting said electrical instrument, said base and electrical instrument cooperating to form an enclosure for said contact blades when said electrical instrument is in mounted position on said base, a plurality of contact elements carried by said base in said enclosure for electroconductively engaging said contact blades, and means having a common control member for positively actuating said contact elements and said contact blades towards a condition wherein said contact elements and contact blades are disengaged While said electrical instrument is in its mounted position.

11. In a detachable instrument assembly, a detachable electrical instrument having a plurality of main contact members, a base for detachably supporting said electrical instrument, said base and electrical instrument cooperating to form an enclosure for said main contact members when said electrical instrument is in mounted position on said base, a plurality of contact elements carried by said base in said enclosure for electroconductively engaging said main contact members, a plurality of auxiliary contact members, and means having a common control member for actuating said contact elements from engagement with one group of said contact members into engagement with the remainder of said contact members while said electrical instrument is in its mounted position.

ARGYLE R. BUTTER. 

